Mystique of the Carolina Bays

Photographer Robert Clark and I traveled over 30,000 miles in three states exploring and documenting the phenomenon known as Carolina bays. Due out in 2019 from the University of South Carolina Press, this book takes you inside bays in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. One of Earth’s more mysterious landforms, their origins yet unsolved, Carolina bays are rich with wildlife splendor and mystery.

Banks Lake, a Carolina bay near Valdosta, Georgia.

A colony of pitcher plants, a carnivorous plant that lures insects to their death down its long and deadly throat.

Dry Bay at Savannah River Site, a protected area with many Carolina bays.

Carolina bays are elliptical depressions oriented NW to SE, often with sand rims on their southeastern rims. Such traits led many to suppose that a meteor bombardment created them. No evidence supports the meteorite theory.